College lecturers vote to accept new pay offer

College lecturers in Scotland have voted to accept a new pay offer, ending a long- running series of strikes.

Lecturers will get a rise of more than 4.1% next year plus a £5,000 increase covering the previous three years.

The EIS Further Education Lecturers Association said 95% of its members who voted were in favour of the new deal, and turnout was 84%.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said the deal included an assurance of no compulsory redundancies as a result of the settlement.

She said: "This has been a very long and difficult campaign, with EIS-FELA members forced to engage in a long-running programme of industrial action to secure a fair pay settlement from college employers and assurance that this will not come at the cost of jobs."

College students have faced regular disruption over the past year due to a series of strike days.

The union has now suspended all industrial action across Scotland pending ratification of the pay award.

Gavin Donoghue, director of College Employers Scotland, said the new offer was only possible because the Scottish government had made an extra £4.5m of funding available for next year.

He said: “This pay award delivers a starting salary for lecturers of nearly £42,000 from September 2025, with the average lecturer salary increasing to more than £50,000.

"This means that lecturers in Scotland will continue to enjoy the best pay and conditions of any college lecturers across the UK."